


You and I Collide

by themunak



Series: With Me on That Field [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, The Avengers (2012), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Alternate Universe - Pokemon, Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-22
Updated: 2013-05-30
Packaged: 2017-12-12 14:41:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/812723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themunak/pseuds/themunak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Snapshots of how some humans (and a few aliens) found their Pokémon and the shenanigans that happened along the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Tony

**Author's Note:**

> I DON'T EVEN KNOW 
> 
> This was written in a sleepy daze last night and I cant remember any of the details. I'm just putting it up here because it was suggested, and I'm not sure whether to make this into an actual thing with other MCU characters and their Pokémon.
> 
> For now... yes well. First MCU drabble/fic get.

When Tony had been twenty-something and young and stupid and thinking that he could control the world (well, he still can, considering the world peace thing, but that's not the point right now), he'd decided to make a new kind of Pokémon. After all, a stone robot-thing had been made by an ancient civilization using who-knows-what, so why shouldn't a modern man try with modern machines using modern techniques?

The first attempt had been an utter disaster, a Frankenstein if you will, and Tony had had no qualms about completely wiping it both from the face of the earth and his brain. Then he went and got drunk and maybe brought a couple of women home and made Stark industries stock do a roller coaster again, because _oh right_ , CEO now.

The fifth attempt, fueled by (temporary) sobriety, fierce determination, fixed mistakes from his last ventures into creation and a little help from the actual Pokémon experts (when he sucked up his pride that is), had gone much, much better. So much better in fact that the result continues to stay with him.

Its physical body was not much to talk about, considering Tony had hastily slapped on some polygons for a 'modern' look without thinking about it too much, and called it a Porygon because honestly, no one looks at him for his creativity with names. Its brain though, that's something else. It was intelligent, capable of learning and very self-aware, despite not being able to speak yet.

And, oh boy, it could dive into cyberspace like a professional swimmer diving into a pool. Computers had become its playground and domain and Tony couldn't have been any prouder if he'd tried. Its functions had been awkward and messy at first, trying to adjust to its new surroundings, but the Porgyon had soon been his main assistant in developing new tech and weaponry for the company.

Months later, with better technology, he'd given his new Pokémon an Upgrade, and in doing so, evolved it into something just a little cooler than before, all those clunky blocks smoothing out to a look that was a little bird-like but suited the sleek modern look he'd always been going for. With the Upgrade came the ability to talk, the increased ability to integrate itself into any computer system and perform multiple tasks at once, and the ability to _think_ for itself.

The Porygon2 developed an accent that's at odds with its cute little physical form and a sarcastic personality Tony could never bring himself to hate. It had begun to live exclusively in his computers and eventually his entire house but who cared about physical interaction anyway?

One day, Tony called it ( _him_ ) 'Jarvis' by mistake, because he was having a hangover and had had dreams of a shitty childhood with only one friendly face, and the Porygon2 that had taken up permanent residence in the wires replied with a prompt "Good morning, sir."


	2. JARVIS part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love the Porgyon line. I love JARVIS. Therefore, I _really_ love PoryJARVIS.
> 
> Thus the JARVIS duology is born.

Ever since evolving and taking up residence in his computers, JARVIS has never once left the safe confines of his cyberspace.

Or so Sir thinks.

Having an actual physical body, JARVIS is in fact capable of operating on the same plane as humans-- he just prefers not to. This is why people, including Ms. Potts and Colonel Rhodes tend to mistake him for a very sophisticated AI instead of a very intelligent Pokémon with true sentience behind it.

JARVIS is content to live within his creator and master's computers, amongst the code and protocols, sending out commands and directing linked hardware as needed, and talk through the speakers Sir had set up specifically for his use. This is why he almost never thinks to leave.

The first time he returns to meatspace

[n. The physical world, as opposed to cyberspace]

after evolving is when his creator and master disappears during a weapons demonstration in Afghanistan. When he does not return after his estimated time of arrival, or even call home to inform JARVIS of any delay, JARVIS takes it upon himself to know what is going on. Through the military chatter, he discovers that Sir's convoy had been attacked and he had been taken prisoner.

`[n. A person captured and kept in confinement.]`

01010111011010000110000101110100001000000110010001101111001000000100100100100000011001000110111100111111

There's no protocol for this. There are many contingency plans in case of emergency, but Sir had not said anything about potential kidnappings or terrorist attacks, and with JARVIS miles and miles way, not knowing where to start, finding him will be difficult.

JARVIS initiates a lockdown of the workshop and garage in case anyone decides to come in and steal very important SI technology (and to keep the robots inside for the safety of the entire mansion; they send him streams of code in question but he ignores them and orders them to their charging stations) and extricates himself from the wires and onto the cold hard floor of Sir's Malibu mansion. He's incapable of flying despite his bird-like appearance, but he is capable of using Magnet Rise, and floating a good two feet above the ground is enough to get by.

This is how Ms. Potts finds him twenty-four hours later, hovering near the grand piano.

She screams and looks to the Gardevoir next to her for defense, but he's completely unfazed by the potential threat despite her being so much more powerful than himself. Instead, he remotely turns the lights to 40% and greets her with a, "Good morning, Ms. Potts, I'm afraid Mr. Stark isn't here at the moment."

It's very amusing to see a normally composed face turn from horror into shock into utter confusion, and JARVIS wonders why he'd taken so long to physically appear to Sir's friends.

But true to Ms. Potts' character, she gets over it eventually, and JARVIS manages to extract a promise from her never to tell anybody else about his little secret. In the meantime, he would help her run Stark Industries as the affable voice in her ear while searching for Priority #01 (P01) tirelessly.

After all, he had been designed never to need neither sleep nor food.

In the past, Sir had refused to have subcutaneous tracking devices in his body, and most of the time, JARVIS had been keeping track of him either through his mobile or the sunglasses on his face. Finding him would be much easier if he did allow it.

But JARVIS has never been a Pokémon to dwell on the past. He begins to travel along the Internet itself. He goes through wires and connections throughout the world, jumping from computer to computer, only returning to the mansion on Malibu if Ms. Potts needs his assistance.

One day, he comes across radio chatter in Afghanistan about a fire fight, and he bothers Colonel Rhodes' mobile and radio until he investigates it for himself.

( _"Wake up, Daddy's home!_

 _Welcome home, Sir. We've missed you."_ )

\----------

Whenever significant damage occurs in the mansion, JARVIS feels it. And he feels the battle between Sir and Colonel Rhodes very, very much.

It feels like portions of his body had been taken out, because that is what the mansion is to him. An extension of himself to house and protect P01.

It _hurts_ , and JARVIS takes Sir's absence as an opportunity to pause his usual functions and leave the wires for a while. At least in meatspace, he can distance himself a little more from the portions of the house that have been completely blown away by the two Iron Man suits.

JARVIS has just begun examining the damage in person and calculating possible repair times and costs when Sir returns home with several agents of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, and he has to quickly hide to keep himself from being spotted. He doesn't return to the computer, but he does use his extended eyes and ears to listen in on the conversations between Sir and Nick Fury, and later Agent Coulson.

Had he any fur, he'd have bristled when Agent Coulson threatens to turn a taser on Sir, so when the agent is alone, JARVIS decides to deliver a statement of his own.

"Good afternoon, Agent Coulson. I take it you're settling in well?"

From his hiding place, he can see the agent look around with minute turns of his head, because JARVIS is well aware that his voice has an echo, without the clear quality it usually has when he communicates through the multitude of speakers installed in the mansion.

"Yes, thank you, JARVIS."

"Very well, Agent. But might I suggest refraining from threatening Mr. Stark where I can hear it? Allowing harm to come to Mr. Stark goes against all of my protocols and should you decide to make good on your threats, I will have to take action. After all, I am Just a Rather Very Intelligent System."

He wants to reveal himself, but as Sir had never once mentioned his real identity to anyone else, JARVIS remains in the shadows. Ms. Potts is the only exception and in accordance with his protocols of keeping Sir safe, he intends to keep it that way.

So he leaves meatspace before anything else can happen, such as the agent's Stoutland can sniff him out and settles back into his little nest, ignoring phantom pains from the missing chunks of the mansion to better help his creator and master in discovering a new element.

\----------

The third time JARVIS leaves the safety of his wires is during the attack on New York.

He knows time is of the essence, especially when there is a man claiming to be a god within the premises, and Sir is without a workable suit. When he receives the order to speed up the booting of the Mark VII armor, the Porygon2 very nearly panics, because it's not even close to being ready.

He knows Sir will do something stupid, and very soon.

So he does something stupid himself.

Sending himself from Malibu to Stark Tower usually takes 0.57 seconds. He makes it in 0.30, and immediately throws himself from the tower computer into the Iron Man suit. It is stupid and risky, and he has never done so before because there's no way for him to regulate the house and other important Stark functions while he is in it. Inside the suit, its power and functions are amplified, but he is vulnerable and easily ( ~~killed~~ ) destroyed should it be ruined.

But his creator and master needs the suit, and connecting to it directly is the fastest way to bring it online. He has a wide array of electric type techniques after all, and judging from the skirmish with Mr. Odinson, a few good jolts of electricity should do the trick.

JARVIS manages to catch Sir before he becomes a smear on the ground.

With P01 inside the suit, JARVIS feels his warmth, something he hasn't felt since being given the Upgrade. He finds he misses the physical connection somewhat, but that becomes secondary to protecting and guiding Sir as he defends the city.

(Jonah is not a good role model. He never will be. The suit feels sticky in some places and so does JARVIS. In the first time since his creation, he might need a bath.)

Sir grasps the nuclear weapon and flies with it, and JARVIS can almost feel the danger emanating from it. He wants to jump into it and disable it from the inside out, completely remove the danger from it because it's far to close to P01, but he knows that Sir knows what he's doing.

Before entering the worm hole

`[n. A` **hypothetical** ` topological attribute lauded to be a shortcut through spacetime.`  
`Also.`  
`An Einstein-Rosen bridge]`

JARVIS offers to call Ms. Potts. He manages to use the built-in satellite phone of the suit to dial her number, but when she doesn't answer, he tells himself that it's probably for the best that she doesn't hear the sounds of death in her ear. He likes her. She will never become P01 but she makes P01 happy, and that is good enough for him.

"It's been a pleasure, sir." He doesn't know what exactly prompts him to say that, but he feels Sir needs something to reassure him that he's not alone.

When the explosion happens, Sir closes his eyes, but JARVIS keeps watching. He commits everything he sees to memory. The floating landmass of the invaders. The formations of the stars and a nearby nebula.

Can forbidden knowledge and Lovecraftian qualities drive a Pokémon insane? JARVIS doesn't know. Probably doesn't care.

He only closes his eyes when the explosion reaches the suit and--

He wakes up when he feels a jolt of electricity through his body. JARVIS feels strangely disjointed and hollow, but quickly realizes it's because the suit is literally disjointed, slowly being taken apart by a robotic arm and some electricity to loosen the various plates that have locked up. He sneaks away from his little niche and returns to the safety of the building systems before Sir can discover him hiding inside the suit instead of within Stark Tower or the Malibu mansion.

Are Pokémon capable of obtaining vacations? He feels he needs one as he sinks back into the comforts of 127.0.0.1.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One day I'll learn how to do those hovertexts so you wont have to open a new tab just to decode all the binary.


	3. JARVIS part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't watched IM3, **stop reading right now and go watch it**. As this part of JARVIS' duology takes place during IM3, there will be a lot of spoilers. _A lot_.

JARVIS becomes more and more comfortable about leaving the walls and ceilings and moving through meatspace after the incident at New York. He becomes _adventurous_ , but only when Sir isn't around to need him.

He finds that the view on top of the roof is his favourite. The colours of the horizon seem much more vivid when he's not looking through a camera.

Of course, he has to fend off a few Wingulls just to have some peace, but that's neither here nor there.

He also eats for the very first time, namely the dried fruit Sir seems to snack on once in a while, like blueberries and cranberries.

One the other hand, Sir spends all of his waking hours (last known time of sleep: 46 hours 7 minutes ago; duration: 1.5 hours) in the lab, working on suit after suit and JARVIS has to continually update the protocols and adjust his own functions to accommodate all these prompts and commands. He is tireless, yes, but humans aren't.

And Sir not attending to his bodily functions is getting more worrisome by the day.

It's highly likely that this is an issue humans call PTSD, but even after hours of exploring the Internet for a viable solution for P01, JARVIS comes up with nothing concrete. 'Talking it out' is not something Sir would be enthusiastic about. There is only so much a Porgyon2 can do, and JARVIS resorts to insistent, almost nagging reminders when he feels Sir is doing too much again.

Ms. Potts is also very good at instilling some peace in Sir, for which JARVIS appreciates her more.

Though even that is still not enough, because they find themselves working on the Mark _42_ , which makes JARVIS protest all the way through the production of, because even this is becoming too much.

\----------

JARVIS has experienced portions of the house being destroyed due to the Iron Man suits, but never before has he felt something of this magnitude.

He sees the helicopters coming, he sees the missiles, but how can you brace yourself for something that will surely destroy you?

So he doesn't brace himself. Instead, he remotely controls the Mark 42 to move before Sir even manages to gesture for it.

It doesn't wrap around him though, no, because Sir may be P01 for JARVIS but Sir's own Priority #1 is Ms. Potts and if JARVIS can make Sir's impact on the walls less painful he would have, but he cant. He cant make the walls softer.

Meanwhile, JARVIS feels the crushing pain of the missiles colliding with the mansion, and he struggles to keep the necessary functions working despite parts of the mansion are already falling into the sea, and it feels like losing parts of himself, data being erased from his very being.

Including the robots.

2.32 seconds before impact, DUM-E and Butterfingers keep a running stream of code JARVIS knows well as their form of incessant chatter. 0.27 seconds after impact, Butterfingers suddenly falls silent and the network is filled with DUM-E attempting to reboot it remotely. 5.43 seconds after impact, JARVIS has to ( ~~mercy kill~~ ) initiate a forced shut-down on DUM-E. Losing its chatter as well is disconcerting, but necessary.

01001001 00100111 01101101 00100000 01110011 01101111 01110010 01110010 01111001 00101100 00100000 01000100 01010101 01001101 00101101 01000101 00101110

When Sir takes control of the Mark 42 once again, JARVIS wastes no time in jumping right into it and working on its currently more important functions-- flight and combat.

He spends a lot of his energy on powering and maintaining the functions of the suit, but he still has enough wits about him to do the most important thing when they're underwater and Sir is very close to another anxiety attack.

"Take a deep breath, sir."

He jumps into the free gauntlet and disengages it from the suit. It's a difficult manoeuvre and if he is not careful or quick enough, P01 will drown.

But JARVIS is nothing but efficient and reliable. That's how he'd been designed.

JARVIS frees Sir and manages to get the last of the protocols of the suit running. He does everything to keep the suit in the air and Sir alive within it, even though he can tell that his strength is waning the longer he powers it on his own. But Sir is and has always been Priority #01 and he cannot stop right now.

He follows the flight plan and makes sure to crash in the snow instead of in the middle of the road where the landing is softer and there are no cars to run them over (he miscalculates though and it's a more jarring crash than he'd intended). He wishes he can do more, but the suit has leeched more than too much energy from him and he needs 

01110011 01101100 01100101 01100101 01110000

to shut down and be recharged.

"I think I need to sleep for a while, Sir."

He sees Sir's face above him, with an emotion he dimly registers as concern, and somehow he actually feels hands on him. He doesn't remember removing himself from the suit yet he feels Sir putting a hand on his head.

Or perhaps he's simply hallucinating due to the exertion.

"JARVIS? Don't leave me now, buddy."

\----------

JARVIS ( ~~hides~~ ) re-enters the suit once he ( ~~regains consciousness~~ ) comes back online. The boy, designation TEMPUSER_HARLEY, and his 01000110 01110101 01110010 01110010 01100101 01110100 are curious about a Pokémon they have never seen before, but Sir has need of a Swoobat.

Though he may need another restart because "At the end of a sentence, I say the wrong cranberry."

He does however manage to sort it out before he's needed in Miami, and when the first gauntlet begins to fly, JARVIS jumps into it immediately, because Sir without a suit in a dangerous situation must be remedied quickly, and JARVIS is capable of containing the situation on his own until the rest of the suit arrives.

Sure enough, once he arrives at the intended destination, he jumps out of the gauntlet and delivers a sharp electric shock to the nearest human with a gun.

"Holy shit, when did you learn how to do that?!"

"I've been practicing, Sir."

It's the first time he actually _fights_ alongside Sir instead of maintaining and controlling the suit. Sir handles the humans, and he marks their accompanying Pokémon and while he may not be as high-leveled as some, the Return attack he'd learned from the corresponding Technical Machine works just as well.

And he has to say, downloading those Technical and Hidden Machines into himself years ago had been a good idea, otherwise this would have been one contingency he'd not be prepared for. And as Sir's personal butler and Pokémon, he always should be.

When the suit has completed its assembly, JARVIS jumps back into it, ready to start charging it once again. But not before taking the Pokéball in which Ms. Potts' Gardevoir had been confined. With a specialized lock, they will have to wait till they have a proper workshop to free her.

\----------

When Sir pilots the Mark 42 straight into oncoming traffic, JARVIS is actually forced right out of the suit and he barely has a minute to throw himself and the helmet onto the sidewalk.

"You all right there JARVIS?" Sir's voice sounds... tinny when he's not directly integrated into the suit. Is this how humans perceive it? Or is it simply because the capacities of the suit are diminished so much that it's difficult to find a proper signal?

"Peachy, Sir. Might I suggest looking before you cross the street in the future?"

Once Sir manages to extract a promise to be safe and that he'll return for JARVIS soon, JARVIS looks to the scattered remains of the Iron Man suit across the street and begins the process of retrieval and reassembly of the suit-- manually this time.

After all, Sir, needs his Pokémon, and the House Party Protocol includes all able Iron Man suits, the Mark 42 included. And JARVIS is nothing but efficient.

\----------

Controlling multiple suits at once is not a simple thing to accomplish, but JARVIS manages once he sets the Mark 42 to autopilot.

This time, he doesn't feel any pain when the Extremis signatures rips through the suits. He's learned how to distance himself, and only having remote control over the suits makes this far easier than it may have been if he were in the suits directly.

It's better this way, because he needs all the concentration he can muster for this task. Without a central hub, his central hub that had been destroyed and the pieces of which are at the bottom of the sea now, he must execute all on his own. Though when he arrives at his destination, controlling the suits become relatively simple due to his proximity to the rest of them.

He jumps out from the Mark 42 and remotely triggers its self-destruct function when Sir commands it. Every time an Extremis signature gets too close to Sir and himself, he terminates it personally-- and with extreme prejudice as Sir had recommended earlier. He finds Thunder is a very useful move for the occasion, and rather satisfying as well.

Though because of his occupation with the task at hand, he forgets to use his physical eyes and very nearly destroys Sir's own P01.

(So this is what feeling horror is like.)

The Blank Slate Protocol doubles as his apology to Ms. Potts when he removes himself from the final suit as it explodes and hops towards his humans, and she picks him up as if he's a delicate little bird. She's warm, but not overly so, which tells him much about her current state. She's in no danger any longer.

"You know, I don't see you being so shocked over this whole JARVIS-is-a-Pokémon thing," Sir comments, an eyebrow raised.

"I think I'm all shocked out, to be honest," Ms. Potts replies.

"I believe the Blank Slate Protocol was shocking enough, Sir."

If Sir flicks his beak at that, well, JARVIS doesn't mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of the duology! Though since I love PoryJARVIS a lot, I may be writing more of him and Tony in the future. For now though, I have other 'snapshots' for the other Avengers and other characters.


	4. Clint

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note that the nickname 'Tai' is pronounced 'tie' or that thing you do with your shoelaces. My RL friend made this mistake during its beta stage so I thought to nip it in the bud for you readers.

Growing up in the circus means you have little to no privacy, because you don't have your own house. You have tents and sometimes you have to share them. Clint has always had to share his, because he's just some guy who can use a bow and an arrow, not one of the big, important guys like the magician or the acrobat family.

There are no secrets around here.

But this one? This one he thinks he'll keep.

He'd just come across a nest of bird Pokémon-- or well. A nest of _dead_ bird Pokémon. With the tracks leading away from them, he bets they'd been attacked by a bunch of other Pokémon. He doesn't know which ones though.

But they didn't see that one egg underneath one of the parent Swellows though, because it's not cracked or broken, not like the other three eggs around. Mama or Papa Swellow must have died just to keep this one egg safe, but Clint thinks it's pointless when your kid's going to grow up an orphan anyway.

Though once he thinks that, he grabs the egg and keeps his arms around it because even if this little guy is gonna grow up an orphan, at least it's gonna grow up around other orphans.

Barney and the others ask him where the hell he got the egg, but he shrugs and just says 'around'. Nobody's pleased that he's sneaking Pokémon into the circus but since it's a bird's egg in the arms of Hawkeye, they can probably profit from that.

When the egg hatches into a Taillow a few weeks later, Clint names the teeny bird 'Tai' because archery's his thing, not names.

He never really realizes that Tai's a girl till she's a Swellow and lays eggs during his first week as a SHIELD goon years and years later. He spends the better part of an hour internally screaming several variations of 'whiskey-tango-foxtrot' and the rest of the day shadowing every SHIELD agent with a bird Pokémon to see who knocked up his baby girl. Or at least till Fury tells him to get the motherfucking eggs off his motherfucking base.

Clint donates the eggs to a Pokémon shelter. He'd been a shit father to Tai and he sure as hell wont be doing granddaddy duties any time soon, not with the job he has.

\----------

They say Abras are really fucking difficult to grab, because even if they're sleeping they know when to get the hell out of dodge.

The Abra belonging to the guy Clint and another SHIELD goon are stalking must be perma-drunk though, because it's not doing a thing to help its master. It's just kinda... there. Sitting behind its master like it's some kind of doll or toy.

The Abra is the reason why the higher-ups in SHIELD wanted Clint on board with this mission. When trouble comes a-knocking, Abras can Teleport off, and there's a big chance that they wont be seeing this drug runner for another few years if the Abra does decide to wriggle its nose and get the hell out of dodge.

His partner is the main player here, and Clint's the guy who's has to wait in the shadows with his bow and arrow.

But nothing bad happens, and he's pretty sure that the Abra should have noticed by now because psychics are pretty fucking smart Pokémon, but it seriously doesn't. It makes Clint's skin crawl and he's about to call off the whole op when the Abra looks at him.

It's a fucking Abra though and it's like its eyes are permanently glued shut, but it turns its head in his direction and he thinks his heart just stopped, because even at this distance, he knows that it knows he's there. But instead of alerting its oblivious master, it nods at him and moves a few centimeters to the side.

Which gives Clint a really clear shot to the mark's heart. And Hawkeye's pretty good at taking an opportunity.

When the mark is dead, SHIELD seizes everything that belonged to him, including the Abra. But Clint fights for custody of the little guy because it's round about time that the Pokémon stops getting treated like property.

Fury lets him have the Abra a couple of months after the mission's end.

For a while, Tai thinks she's being replaced, but eventually warms up to the idea of having another fucked-up member to their fucked-up little family. Clint names the Abra 'Abe', because he's got to continue the tradition he started with Tai, right?

\----------

Clint's success rate skyrockets months after he gets the hang of making the most of his two Pokémon.

Because psychics are awesome, especially when paired with a more mobile Pokémon, like, oh say, _birds_.

When he gets himself comfortable on Clint's back like a barnacle on a whale, Abe connects all their minds together during an op, and thanks to him, Clint can see through Tai's eyes when she does her part and acts like your typical city bird Pokémon.

Who needs comms when you've got a mindlink right there?

He still has his eyes, obviously, and he's still Hawkeye even without his Pokémon, but having Tai and Abe around helps a whole fucking lot because she and watch his back-- literally, and he hasn't had to look around just to shoot a bow at an enemy unit trying to sneak up on him since he got used to the mindlink.

They don't even limit themselves to just missions, really. When Tai stretches her wings every morning and flies, Clint can see everything she sees, the way she sees it. It's amazing, and her sight is so much better than his own.

Once, he'd gotten up extra early to watch the sunrise through her.

\----------

The moment Loki touches his chest with the scepter, he stops being Loki and starts being Sir.

Clint is well aware that there are two Pokémon behind him that are trying to catch his attention, trying to get to him, but he shoots them with a tranq gun and warns Sir of Fury's plans.

When they're safely out of SHIELD's reach, Clint gets to work on Sir's plans, starting with gathering manpower and an off-the-grid hideout that not even Fury knows about. However, Sir slips him a scrap of paper with coordinates on it and the order to 'bring her to me'.

So Clint leaves the operation in his second's hands and leaves for Black Hills in South Dakota. The coordinates point exactly to a building in the middle of the forest, something that looks like it had been lived in. Til recently anyway, because now it's going to ruin, and Clint can see animal tracks around it. One large one, always the same animal, and several smaller ones.

A mother and her children? It fits Sir's commands, the mother most likely being 'her'.

He doesn't see any young animals though, just a man in the middle of the building. A man carrying a gun, Winchester 1876, a popular hunting rifle back in the day, but because of the magics in him, Sir's magics, Clint can see see it for what it is-- an illusion. And inside the illusion is a Pokémon.

Roughly the size of a human teenager, dark greyish fur, no tail, long red mane with black highlights, red claws, fox-like. Clint is no expert on Pokémon and the different species, but he's seen drawings of this one before. It's a Zoroark, one of the rarest Pokémon in the world because only two out of ten people have seen it in the past century, making it something like a legend.

This is 'her'. He knows it from the moment he sees the Pokémon through the illusion.

He raises his hands, showing he has no weapons in them, that he's harmless. Relatively. He hasn't been given any instructions about how to proceed with this, but he's sure that Sir wouldn't be happy about his Pokémon getting a scratch on her.

The Pokémon frowns, and so does the illusion, but she drops it anyway, and he knows it's because he smells of Sir by the way her nostrils flare.

"There's someone who wants to see you."

She throws her head and stares at him appraisingly, but a sharp 'yip' sounds from the corner and a smaller fox runs right at her. It's a Zorua, he knows. The unevolved form of a Zoroark, and his missing young animal.

But Clint hasn't been given orders about Zoruas either, and he debates bringing it along anyway-- at least until the Zoroark nudges her fox kit back into its corner and faces him again.

It's clear that she's not going to let her child come along, and Clint's fine with that.

When they get back to base, Clint leaves Sir and his Zoroark to their reunion, but doesn't bother mentioning about the Zorua. It's none of his business. He's not a nanny-- he's an archer.

\----------

When he wakes up with a hangover and a goose egg the size of a soccer ball, his first thought is 'what the hell just happened?'. His second is ' _oh god Tai and Abe--_ '.

A hand touches his face-- three fingers, too small to be a human hand-- and he looks and sees Abe sitting beside the pillow under his head. Up above, in a far corner of the room, he can see Tai watching his with narrowed eyes.

Also in the room is Natasha with her Ariados. If it's in the room instead of that fucking terrifying Skorupi, then she's not here to murder or interrogate him. Probably.

He makes up with Tai and Abe in the Quinjet on the way to New York. Thankfully Nat and Cap give them some kind of privacy by looking the other way, or else his baby girl would have imploded from having to do this touchy-feely business in front of strangers. Abe though, he's all for touchy-feely, and sits on Clint's lap as he pilots.

Outside and in the middle of battle, it's like old times again. Clint forgets about the days he'd spent with that bastard and throws himself wholeheartedly into the mind connection Abe sets up once he's gotten himself settled on Clint's back.

Though Clint has to remember to actually talk, because oh right. He's working in a team now.

But it becomes easy, Abe relaying his orders to Tai and Tai's comments to him and Clint aims and shoots and communicates with the others and he aims and shoots some more.

Tai and Stark make a pretty good team up in the air even if the guy's buttfucking crazy and Tai kinda likes him too _because_ he's buttfucking crazy, so Clint's fine with that.

When his quiver becomes empty and the aliens start crawling up the building to meet him, Abe does more than just keep the mindlink open. Despite being just an Abra, his old master had done the little guy some good-- he'd been taught almost every TM an Abra can learn, and a bunch of tutor moves too. _And_ apparently his father had been some Medicham, and he'd inherited a crapload of moves from the guy. So despite being customer support for most of the time, Abe knows how to take care of himself.

And Clint, obviously.

Abe lets out Psyshock after Psyshock, letting Clint grab spent arrows and have enough time to jump off of his perch, and a nicely-timed Teleport lets him land on his feet without jarring his bones.

Abe is awesome because he can do all this shit while clinging to Clint's back. Tai's awesome because she lets Clint see through her eyes and shoot arrows without needing to physically look at his target. His Pokémon are awesome.

Even when he starts getting tired, his Pokémon wont let him stop, because they know that he's going to hate himself later if he stops and lets other people do his shit. So Clint keeps aiming and shooting and when he runs out of arrows, he grabs two pipes and swings them around and picks up arrows from the dead.

\----------

After the attack on New York, they take Tai and Abe away from him for a week. He wants to protest, and his Pokémon _do_ , but he knows he fucked up.

He may have been brainwashed and crazy, but he still fucked up. SHIELD doesn't trust him as far as they can throw him, not anymore. Not after what he did to the Helicarrier.

Clint's too dangerous of a man to let loose again. They all know this.

Natasha fights for him (bless that cold black heart of hers) but so far, the most they've done is let him have Tai and Abe back. He still cant receive missions or even handle something more dangerous than a fork. Abe offers to sneak him out every now and then because that's pretty much his role out on the field, but Clint always says no, because he's got to prove himself again and having your Abra Teleport you out just so you can get a few drinks wont help in the slightest.

Tai is angry at him because she wants to fly, _needs to fly_ because that's what Swellows do. They fly.

"I know, baby girl," he pleads, "But they're not gonna let me go any time soon."

She pecks him out of sheer irritation, but he knows she's not actually pissed at him. She's pissed at SHIELD for doing this to them.

He wants them to stop being in this stupid fucking base with him, but whenever he suggests they should go out on their own, they both glare at him. Which is pretty impressive in Abe's case, considering his eyes are always closed like that one dude in the show about the family of aliens.

But he never stops suggesting that they go out and he'll meet them when SHIELD finally cuts him loose, and they never stop glaring at him for that.

He fucking loves his Pokémon, even if they're too hard-headed to listen to him sometimes.

\----------

Six months after the attack on New York, Fury finally lightens his 'probation' and lets him run loose again-- but with a curfew and carefully watched missions.

Clint doesn't give a fuck. He can stretch his legs again, and Tai can stretch her arms.

Nat and Cap are waiting for him just outside the base, both in civvies (and oh thank god the Skorupi isn't part of his party) and they drag him out to town to celebrate. Stark and the doc don't make it, and obviously Thor is back home in Viking Godland, but it's not like it's a big deal.

Tai's sad her second favorite human isn't around though and he promises his baby girl that they might crash at his place one day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a reference to a certain video game in this chapter. Net cookie to you if you spot it. Actually, net cupcakes to anyone who spots all the references, game or otherwise, in this chapter because I'd dumped a few of them here.


	5. Natasha

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, sorry for the hideous shortness. I'm not good at writing stoic characters.

Natalia Alianovna Romanova's very first exposure to a Pokémon happens two months into the Black Widow Ops program. As part of their training, each girl is given a Pokémon from another facility of the program, bred using the best possible sires and dams to create young, powerful ones as effective tools and weapons for their operatives.

She is given a female Skorupi named Ekaterina. She does not know which sire was used to give it the starting moves it has, but it does not matter. It is hers now and she will do the rest.

The Skorupi is willful and arrogant, so sure of her abilities in battle, but all she knows is brute strength and the power of its moveset, and Natalia has to teach her the advantages of stealth, secrecy and patience. As she is still a student herself, she at first has difficulty doing this at the same time as her actual training.

But the Pokémon had been given to her for a reason. To train and become a unit for the Red Room's purposes. To not become a working unit means failure. And Natalia does not like to fail.

Little by little, she accomplishes this, and manages to curb the Skorupi's impulsiveness, but she has never once tried to curb its feral nature. Instead, she teaches it about hiding behind masks and lies because she believes this can be an advantage in the future.

While the rest of the girls have their Pokémon evolve into larger, more intimidating forms, Natalia's does not. Ekaterina and she have an agreement that smaller is better.

\----------

The American spy is scared of Ekaterina and does not move in his chair-- he would not even be able to because Ekaterina is efficient in her webbing despite not being a spider Pokémon. He shrieks but does not move when she presses her stinger against his neck. This is their usual opening for an interrogation, and Ekaterina enjoys it every time.

They are in Budapest, on another mission, yet it seems like they are someone's mission as well, because this American had been following them ever since they had arrived in Hungary.

This one is good though, because he had evaded her notice, but his Pokémon are not so good. There is only so many times one can see a Swellow in one day, most especially one with the same markings and scars. Natalia had used that one as bait to get the human behind the operation, and then made sure that neither of his Pokémon could follow them.

"Who do you work for?" Her English is accented but fluent. It is usually enough to communicate with Americans in short lines. Most of the time, Ekaterina does the work.

They are almost always too terrified to keep their secrets secret when she does so.

But the American does not speak, even though Natalia can see him swallow, the movement of his throat as it is pressed against her Skorupi's stinger. Even though Ekaterina had nipped and snapped and electrocuted him in too-sensitive places. She knows he is terrified of her, that much is from his eyes, but she sees something else.

She realizes he must have meant this to happen all along, and takes her gun. Never mind the interrogation, she has to kill him and leave before his companions, whoever they are, arrive.

But when she points the gun to his head, something snatches it from her hand. She can see it is the Swellow from before, but she cannot do anything with the speed that it flies.

Natalia turns to give Ekaterina an order, but she finds her pinned down by the psychic power of an Abra, and the American has pointed her gun at her. Behind her, the Swellow settles, puffing out its feathers to make it seem larger.

She still fights, knocking the American's hand aside, because she had not been taught to wait for someone to pull the trigger. She leaves the gun alone because she knows he has too firm of a grip on it (calloused hand, signs of an experienced marksman, and he owns a bow), so she pulls out one of her knives and tosses it at the Abra. It disappears before the knife can reach it, but she doesn't need it dead. Only out long enough to free her own Pokémon.

The Swellow dives on the Skorupi and even if Ekaterina does not have the advantage, Natalia knows hers is still superior in every way.

When she and the American fight, she gets a better sense of just how good he is. She is trying to kill him, and that is what makes her stronger, but he can block her, match her blow for blow, even if it is clear that he does not want to do the same, and the only thing that completely stops the fight is the Abra returning and punching her repeatedly on the shoulder.

Each individual punch does not hurt, because it is an _Abra_ and they use their minds, not their bodies.

But with each tap she finds herself getting weaker and weaker until she is shaking as if she had not eaten in days (and she knows how that feels).

"Drain Punch. Nice job, Abe. Let's get her out of here."

Finally the American speaks, and when she registers his words, she struggles, more, but the Abra punches her again, in the face this time, and she feels all the energy leave her body.

(The American is not the only one to have followed her to Budapest. They spend too much time surviving and fighting in the city before his comrades come for him and take them away.

_"I was sent to kill you, you know."_

_"Then why am I alive?"_

_"Because I made a different call."_

She becomes Natasha Romanov soon after that.)

\----------

An Ariados is captured by Natasha's own hand years later with Ekaterina's Electro Web. It had been interfering with her surveillance of a mark in Rome and she had no time to deal with it with a proper Pokémon battle. However, she names this one herself, because the Red Room is no longer her concern. She's with SHIELD now, and she has slightly more freedom to choose her Pokémon team.

She gets the Ariados because she thinks it's fitting. And so does Clint.

In fact, Clint gives her an idea for the Ariados' name from a random conversation in the base.

"She acts like she owns the place. Like a queen. Or czar, since you're Russian."

"Tsaritsa."

"What?"

"It's 'tsaritsa' for females."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note 1: In the comics, 'Natalia' is Nat's birth name (since 'Natasha' is its diminutive form), so that's why I called her Natalia for the first two sections of this chapter.
> 
> Note 2: I settled for 'tsaritsa' for the Ariados because my research showed that it's what they used to call female rulers or wives of the tsars before 'tsarina' came along. As I'm ignorant about a lot of things Russian and I don't consider Tom Clancy's works as reliable sources for that kind of thing, any correction on this would be appreciated.


	6. Loki

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has slain me. That is all.

The young prince is nary two centuries old when he meets with a being so much older than he has ever seen before.

It is a magnificent creature, grey accents highlighting the white of its body with a curious structure of gold decorating its midsection, galloping as though there is actual ground beneath it instead of the nothingness of space. Better than Father's Sleipnir, he adds in his mind, though he shall never mention it. The eight-legged horse is indeed a fine steed, but this being is nothing quite like it.

The being canters about before coming to a halt near the place where the bridge to the Bifrost and the palace meet, standing on absolutely nothing as everyone approaches it carefully. It looks at every single Asgardian gathered, and when it alights its gaze on Loki, he has difficulty seeing just how deep its eyes are.

But he knows that this creature has seen the beginnings and ends of worlds, possibly even galaxies.

Thor grips his sword, ever-ready for battle, but Loki knows that it is not here to do battle. He's very sure that the being is capable of making war on Asgard on its own, but it chooses _not_ to.

Therefore, it's here for a visit. A diplomatic excursion?

Father knows too, he always knows. He commands everyone to leave, most likely to give himself and the being a semblance of privacy, but Loki wants to know more of the being, so he steals out in the dead of night to where it stands, still exactly where they had left it.

He finds it staring out to space (it is so _tall_ that Loki's neck begins to ache just looking up at it and he thinks it can easily brush the ceiling of the throne room if it ever goes inside), much like the way Heimdall does, but it turns its large head in his direction and Loki finds himself staring into its deep, deep eyes once again. And when it speaks (though he sees no mouth for it to speak through), its voice is neither male nor female.

"You should be asleep, godling."

He bristles at the title for several seconds, until he discovers that the creature is only stating a fact, that he's a very young god comparing to the thing he is currently looking at, instead of delivering an insult.

"I wish to know you, creature."

"First, you must know my name."

Word games, from such a creature? Loki refuses to lose, then. "Then what is your name?"

"Arceus."

He has never heard of it before, which it curious in and of itself, because Loki has heard of everything and everyone of import in the universe. So how does Father know this 'Arceus' when Loki doesn't?

Arceus must notice his thoughts, because it tosses its head and says, "You father keeps secrets well. I am one of them."

"And why would he do such a thing?"

"You must ask him that yourself, godling."

Loki is found and sent away by Heimdall before he can ask any more of the creature, and in the morning, during the day's meal, it leaves Asgard.

And never returns.

\----------

Loki has always been one to steal away from Asgard and explore-- as a young sorcerer who has managed to learn to transport himself from realm to realm without need for the Bifrost, of course he would take the opportunity to leave undetected.

He visits Muspelheim but leaves almost immediately because the heat is far too much for him. He visits Svartalfheim but the constant warring between the Dark Elves bore him. He visits Vanaheim and enjoys it, a realm full of magic and he considers returning in the future. He visits Alfheim and enjoys their lightheartedness, though gains some ire when he plays his tricks on them. He completely avoids Jotunheim.

However, it's at Midgard that he finds something of interest, and for a god several centuries old, discovering something interesting in a world full of mortals is something indeed.

In a Midgardian forest, he finds a large fox-like creature with dark, dark grey-brown fur and red claws hovering over a smaller one-- a parent and its young, that much is obvious. The parent is making wounded noises in its throat and keeps nudging its spawn, yet the little one does not react.

Even from this distance, Loki can tell that the little brown fox is dead.

He tells the parent as much, but it turns on him and attacks him, snarling and teeth seeking to dig themselves into his neck. He fights it off rather easily-- it's naught but skin and bones and dry, dry fur, a half-dead creature and he should kill it right now.

Yet he does not, for all the worlds that it is starving and weak, he still sees in its eyes that it refuses to die. Refuses the very word, even.

Thus, Loki helps it get revenge for its fallen young-- a human with a weapon called a gun, a hunter. Loki finds steel within the fox-spawn's body that matches the steel projectiles of the hunter's gun and he knows the fox-spawn had died to that.

Weak as it is, there is now something that the fox-creature has that had not been present during it first meeting with the hunter-- fury. It had had a child and now it wants its revenge in blood.

However, Loki is a prankster, not a murderer. So he does what he does best. He pranks.

Apparently their friend turns to hunting to collect skins from his game, so Loki animates every animal pelt he sees in the wooden house in the forest. Meanwhile, the fox-creature-- and oh how magnificent a creature it is when its red lips have turned up in a grin to match his own-- takes on the hunter's own appearance right before the human's eyes, complete with the horrendous Midgardian weapon. And illusion and Loki can see the fox underneath the magic, but it's an expertly-crafted one that it would fool a sorcerer that's not of Loki's caliber.

The fox-creature in disguise points it right at him, and Loki's laughter is a thing to behold when the Midgardian flees as fast as his legs can carry him. When the fox dispels the illusion it had placed around itself and comes to him, he discovers within his own self that he would like to keep this one.

However, Father would not like it. Mother, yes, because she has difficulty saying no to her sons, but Father? Most definitely not.

So he cares for her-- a female, which now becomes obvious due to her attachment to her dead young-- in secret. When he leaves her for the first time, and comes back later for their second meeting, he brings an apple and offers it to her.

She is suspicious of the golden fruit however, and rejects it for several hours till the enticing smell of the golden apple of Idunn overwhelms her and she snatches it from his grasp, injuring his hand in the process. Though he cares not for the mere scratches on his hand. The look in her eyes are she bites into the soft skin of the fruit is unrepentant and he laughs.

He names her Atla, because she is a wild and ferocious creature, and will always be. And he has no intention of changing that, because that's what makes her so beautiful.

He continues to come to Midgard and visit her, and with the apples he periodically brings (there are no rules against taking Idunn's golden fruit for an animal, after all), her lifespan is lengthier than those around her.

She meanwhile hunts and kills and travels. She does what she does best and it's through her that he knows Midgard well. It's with her that he watches wars and deaths and innovation and the fast-paced growth of the Midgardians, threatening to overwhelm the rest of the world with their short, short lives.

But there is one constant on the little, ever-changing world and that is her.

\----------

When Thor is banished to Midgard and Loki follows him there, he regrets that he cannot visit Atla. He now has new duties suddenly heaped upon him and he's only there for Mjolnir.

He promises to himself that he will see her once again when this is all done.

It does not happen. He falls into and through the abyss below the Bifrost, falls and falls and does not stop until wretched creatures and their ghastly, morbid master catch him.

\----------

How long has it been since he had been on Midgard? Loki scarcely remembers the passage of time in the insignificant little realm, though he knows why he had been there in the first place.

But he does remember one thing, and he sends Barton to get it for him. Then he watches the humans under his command work, like the ants they are, scurrying about with their machinery and weapons and papers, always busy. Though Loki knows they are tireless thanks to his kind, kind influence and they will not stop until he wills it. Or until they die. Whichever of the two comes first. 

When Barton returns, _she_ is there with him, and he smells the wary aggression emanating from her. Despite the mane of blood red fur, he can see her ears slowly pulling back, her back arching, and the way her lips pull back over fangs is very very evident as she stalks into the room after Barton.

Too many humans.

Loki knows the feeling.

He opens his arms to greet her, and she rushes at him, teeth bared, but he knows that she seeks not to hurt him when her jaws close around his neck yet breaks no skin. It's a warning. His darling is very, very cross with him.

He laughs

When some of the Midgardians attempt to pull her off of him, she whirls, mouth wide open, but Loki raps his sceptre once on the ground and the humans stop. He sends them away.

Forces them to leave him and his beautiful wild creature be.

He digs his fingers into her mane and she barks a warning, but does not show her teeth and instead settles beside him.

Loki spends his days like this, feeling her warmth against his leg and under his hand, muttering in her ear about how he would destroy this disgusting little rock and when he is done with Midgard, Asgard would be next. That he would bring her with him and she could have all the golden apples she wants. He gives her all of his plans, every little thing.

And he pretends that Atla does not look at him with sadness in her blue, blue eyes.

\----------

Atla accompanies him to his little excursion into the country called Germany, and then later on the flying ship the humans naming themselves after a piece of armour call the Helicarrier. He knows well what its purpose is, having taken it from the mind of Barton.

They even place her in the same drab glass cage and despite her wild nature, she sits at his feet and watches everything outside of it with narrowed eyes. Loki knows that she is thinking. Perhaps how to escape from it, or even revenge on them all for caging them.

He passes his hand over her head with a whispered "Patience, darling."

Agent Barton will arrive soon, the ever-punctual little follower. And in the meantime, Loki will enjoy playing with the ants who believe themselves wearing the boot.

When the female mortal with hair the color of flames begins to speak with him, Atla scratches his hand, but he ignores her. She tugs at his coat, makes noise and attempts to get in between himself and Agent Romanov, but he brushes her away and keeps on conversing with the mortal.

It is only until he'd been tricked that he realizes Atla has been trying to keep him from falling into the spider's trap, and he'd ignored her in favour of manipulating and damaging the human woman's mind, when she clearly knows trickery when she sees it.

She has been his loyal pet ( _companion_ ) for years upon years, and a fellow trickster as well. Of course she knows everything.

And she looks at him with irritation in her eyes, because of course he should have listened to her before prattling on and on.

When they finally leave the glass cage and imprison _Thor_ in it, Loki takes immense pleasure in threatening the Odinson, reaching into his heart with words and throwing all of his fears into the air between them. He has failed, and Loki has won, and he will take the rock called Midgard for himself.

(He never realizes that Atla is silent, subdued.)

Loki is interrupted by the bland Agent Coulson wielding a weapon he claims is inspired by the Destroyer, though he takes care of that matter very quickly, and the human's shaggy little dog with the loud, brave voice is thrown across the room by Atla.

But when he pushes his hand on the button that releases the glass cage from its confines within the Helicarrier, he sees a blur of black and red out of the corner of his eye, before he is temporarily blinded by a spectrum of colours. He hears something shatter and another thing heavy land on the steel floor and when his vision clears, he believes he is hallucinating.

_She_ is lying at his feet, unmoving, mane fanned all over the floor because the overlarge bead that had held it together is in pieces. He only notices that because they crunch under his boots as he takes steps towards her body. Her fur is either singed or burned away completely and he smells it. Her eyes are wide open yet they do not move, not even when he tugs on her mane, a sure way to irritate her.

She does not move, and if the mortal _dog_ had still been healthy, Loki would have chained him to a wall and made him watch as he ruined the entire realm using his favourite, the archer Agent Barton, and then flayed him alive.

But he is _not_ and Loki knows destroying a dying man is pointless because torture is only effective when the victim is still hale and healthy to experience it, and because there are footsteps quickly coming his way and _he must leave_.

He takes her body and the largest fragment of her hair ornament with him and leaves the Midgardian to die.

\----------

Loki makes mistakes.

He _never_ makes mistakes.

And yet he does in the Isle of Manhattan.

Numerous mistakes that cost him far too much when he can afford so little.

The first had been failing to properly study the Man of Iron before attempting to enslave him. It would have gone so much easier if he had known more of the object in the mortal's chest, that it is more than decoration, that it protects his _heart_.

The second had been engaging in battle with Thor in Stark Tower. He had lost energy and much of his patience with Thor, and he should have known better.

The third had been catching the arrow Barton had sent his way. Of course the slave dog would have sent him something more than a simple arrow. He had seen him at work far too many times.

The fourth had been releasing his frustrations at the Avenger's mindless, monstrous beast. He had relied on it to destroy the Midgardians' fortress in the sky-- _of course_ it would have ruined him.

The fifth had been not reaching Stark's multi-coloured bottles for a drink before the Avengers had taken him.

The humans take every weapon from him, every little item he has on his person, but the one thing he refuses to let go is the gleaming fragment his magnificent fox creature had worn in her mane.

He fights for it, throwing every blasted mortal down and scrabbles for the gem and Thor has to step in and take it himself, not knowing why it is so important but promising that he would hold it instead. Loki eyes the pouch Thor drops it in hungrily and he _will_ take it at the first opportunity because he cannot be kept from it.

Even with the heavy cuffs around his wrists, he manages to steal the pouch from Thor's belt by pretending to stumble on the way to his new cage.


End file.
